MUMBAI:
IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd, the media subsidiary
company of Hinduja Ventures Ltd, is setting foot in Kolkata
through the acquisition route, ahead of the government's digitisation
mandate.

IMCL
has picked up 51 per cent stake in two cable networks - Hooghly-based
Advanced Multisystem Broadband Communications (AMBC) and Skyvision.
With this, the Hinduja-owned multi-system operator (MSO) will
have operations in three out of the four metros that fall
under the first phase of digitisation.

"We
have acquired 51 per cent stake in AMBC and Skyvision as we
want to service Kolkata in the digitisation phase. We will
be expanding in the other main cities of West Bengal,"
IMCL chief executive officer Nagesh Chabria told Indiantelevision.com.

IMCL
is also planning to acquire around 30,000 primary points that
will give it access directly to the customer homes. "We
plan to invest around Rs 1 billion over one year in that market.
We intend to invest Rs 200 million in primary point acquisition
and an almost similar amount in network and upgradation. We
are looking at ordering 350,000 set-top boxes. This will include
demand for second TV and our expansion into the city. We are
also confident to recover whatever base AMBC has lost in the
past year," said Chabria.

IMCL
is setting up a digital head-end in the central part of Kolkata
as it plans to expand in the metro, adding to its strong base
in Mumbai and Delhi. AMBC already has a head-end that services
Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) which falls
under the digitisation belt.

Kolkata is a low ARPU (average revenue per user) market. IMCL's strategy will be to test the Kolkata market before it decides to pump in big investments. The MSO already has a licence to operate in Kolkata.

Sources say smaller cable networks are willing to forego stake, allowing the bigger MSOs to fund the digitisation. This also offers a growth opportunity for these networks who are starved of capital to expand.

A
media analyst expressed doubts over IMCL's ambitious target
of deploying 350,000 STBs in that market over a period of
one year. "The investment of Rs 1 billion and 350,000
STBs sounds too high at this stage. All will depend on how
that market responds," he said.

The
big-tier MSOs have taken the acquisition route to have a
presence in Kolkata ahead of digitisation. In Kolkata, Hathway
has a presence through its joint venture company, Gujarat
Telelinks Pvt Ltd (GTPL), which acquired a 51 per cent stake
in Kolkata Cable and Broadband Pariseva. Den Networks chief
operating officer Mohammad Ghulam Azhar had earlier told
Indiantelevision.com that it has acquired a small cable
network in Kolkata.